<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Mokuteki by CheshireKisses26</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28451850">Mokuteki</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheshireKisses26/pseuds/CheshireKisses26'>CheshireKisses26</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Constipation, F/F, F/M, Gen, Inappropriate Humor, M/M, Multi, Other, Survivor Guilt, Touch-Starved, more tags that i could add but i'm too lazy, multi-purposing fuinjutsu, weapon's mistress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:40:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,865</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28451850</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheshireKisses26/pseuds/CheshireKisses26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kami had cursed him, that much Kakashi Hatake knew for sure. </p><p>Why else would he end up being roped together with not only a painfully reminiscent team of genin, a ticking time bomb for sure, but also a kunoichi by the name of Akira Fujimori? A kunoichi who had a dangerous love for blades and creative ways to use fuinjutsu that he really hadn’t ever had the pleasure of thinking of? Kami above, he was never not going to be able to think of his deceased poor sensei’s strained mental health after meeting a redheaded whirlpool of destructive chaos, eerily similar to a certain kunoichi that had graced him with her presence. Fuinjutsu really should not be used in the way Akira had been gleefully demonstrating. The genin brats had loved it, of course, of course they had. Don’t even get him started on her unnatural affinity with blades, god no. </p><p>All he knew was that the day he had started to look at Akira, truly looked at her, not looked through her, was the day his life had turned on its head -completely uprooted, turned inside out, a full three-sixty- he had resigned himself to this fate. </p><p>Guess he was still deciding whether it was a good one or a bad one.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akimichi Chouji's Mother/Akimichi Chouza, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 &amp; Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nara Shikaku/Nara Yoshino, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Sarutobi Asuma/Yuuhi Kurenai, Yamanaka Ino's Mother/Yamanaka Inoichi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>--</p><p>Akira Fujimori sighed wearily, rubbing her eyes as an oncoming migraine pulsed at her in a warning jolt of pain. It was late, the village quiet, a waning gibbous moon hung in the clear night sky, though she couldn’t enjoy the scenery.</p><p>The irritated kunoichi had made herself comfortable-<em>or at least as comfortable as she could</em>- in a mess of scrolls, ink and brushes at one of the unoccupied training grounds, isolated from prying eyes as she practiced. This was a regular routine for the leaf kunoichi, waiting until night fell to creep her way over to the forested training grounds, eager to polish her skillset. Brandishing a jumbled mess kit of papers, scrolls, ink and many, many brushes. Akira had been lacking in her fuinjutsu techniques, and that was something she wasn't too proud of, so she had decided to sacrifice more of her precious sleep schedule in favor of polishing up her sealing skills.</p><p>Akira wasn’t the most sociable kunoichi, which in itself was a bit odd, as most nin were social creatures, flocking to others almost instinctively. Akira was not like her comrades though, preferring solitude to social outings and drinking nights, not that she would outright refuse to partake in such activities, it was just that she felt more relaxed when she was alone. Perhaps she was just a <em>bit</em> emotionally stunted, or her social skills were just that severely lacking- though she still found herself amidst multiple fellow shinobi on a daily, sharing dango or trading stories, sometimes just relaxing lazily in the sun-how that happens so often she'll never know. It was true that Akira would rarely turn down the offers of social outings, though it was also true that she would prefer to have time to herself. She supposed it just was a fact of matter on hand that she had been integrated into her comrades everyday lives -perhaps subconsciously- and now they drug her into their messes more often than not. So it was nice to just have some time alone for once for the leaf kunoichi. Solitude was <em>nice</em>.</p><p>Tweaking her skills in fuinjutsu, polishing her shurikenjutsu, building more stamina in grueling exercises that left her joints creaking in pain, anything of the sort had been a favored way of passing time for Akira. She was striving to better herself as often as she could, never allowing herself a moment's rest unless she was commanded to do so, or if she was bedridden. She just couldn't sit still when she knew she had so much to do, her nerves running high more often than not, excessive amounts of energy that she had been putting to good use. Most thought it was overkill, cheerily informing her that if she continued to strain herself so often she would end up becoming another Maito Gai, hah wasn’t that a thought. The eccentric Jōnin was someone that Akira was already familiar with, his infectious cheery demeanor reflexively pulling a begrudging smile to her face, chuckling at the thought. That man had some intensive training exercises, maybe she could ask for a few pointers.</p><p>Commentary aside though, this was where she felt most at ease.</p><p>Throwing herself headfirst into training, even if it was a bit untraditional, Akira was content with it. Sneaking out in odd hours of the night to continue her training, she was usually somewhat pleased at the results that would show from her grueling efforts, a benchmark of a sort.</p><p>Most nights.</p><p>Tonight was <em>not</em> that kind of night.</p><p>Ink stained her scarred limber fingers as she groaned exasperatedly. Fuinjutsu took so much self-discipline, so much effort. It was a teeth-grinding, ever-so-cautious amount of patience and mental fortitude. It was something she was both grateful yet annoyed with. Akira knew her quick-witted over-imaginative mind was always running at mach speed, usually causing her more harm than good. Yet, yet- the art of sealing had so many amazing options, opportunities, the art had so much potential behind it that it could be used for. <em>Multi-purposing fuinjutsu-</em> her eyes widened at the sheer amount of possibilities. There could be so many things she could use fuinjutsu for- wait now wasn't the time to be visualizing the many purposes that sealing could have, even if the thought was one that she would be sure to come back to. Right now though she had to <em>focus</em>. Fingers trembled with restraint as Akira continued, hands shaking slightly in an effort of cautious precision, brush swirling across the parchment in her lap, nerves jumping and jolting frantically with each stroke.</p><p>“Ahh, kami help me-this doesn’t make any goddamn sense!” The fuinjutsu practitioner growled, crumpling the scrolling parchment in front of her with a snarl. Why couldn't everything be as easy as weapon handling? Or physical stamina? Really, she knew why she had continued to practice fuinjutsu, but <em>kami above</em>, she just wanted to be able to do something that wouldn't leave her feeling utterly useless and dense. It felt like she was a genin again. Akira smoothed the grimace from her lips, she wanted to be successful in this- no. She had to be successful.</p><p>Unbeknownst to the fuinjutsu-struggling kunoichi, a watchful pair of eyes were observing her from a distance. Keen gaze studying the odd sight of a lone kunoichi hunched over in an unoccupied training ground, intrigued at the sight. The voyeurs’ curiosity piqued as they continued to observe the lone figure, chuckling softly at the frustrated growls they heard.</p><p>Akira cursed again, louder this time as she crumpled another parchment in her ink stained hands, rubbing her temple to relieve the migraine pulsing angrily at her head. Her usual nightly activities she favored instead of resting were not kind on her body, especially her head. Groaning disappointedly, the kunoichi shoved the crumpled parchment into her leather bound bag, throwing in the remainder of brushes and ink as an afterthought, stretching her limbs lazily to relieve some pressure from her aching joints.</p><p>Tonight wasn’t successful either, she kept getting stuck on that one specific brushstroke, her hands trembled too much for her to make the precise motion that was needed to complete the sealing. How aggravating.</p><p>Akira sighed heavily again, likely her fifth one in the span of an hour, before she let her body slump over in exhaustion. Familiar and comfortable dirt surrounded her senses, fallen leaves from the foliage of the forest met her back as she let herself go boneless, enjoying the earthy scent surrounding her as she closed her eyes. A soft smile on her face as the leaf kunoichi rested her weary body. If she couldn’t get it right tonight, then there was always tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, then the next day. She’d get it right eventually, she knew she would.</p><p>With a wide yawn Akira stretched her limbs out further, deciding that she’d camp out in the forest for a night. After all it’s not like anyone was around to judge her, and if they did, well...they’d get to experience one of her finished sealing scrolls. A smirk danced across her lip, a gleefully sadistic smirk growing into a grin at the thought. Fuinjutsu was indeed very multi-purposeful. She snickered as she felt her mind start to drift, sleep beginning to overtake her in a warm much-needed embrace. Akira was still unaware of the silent observer that crept closer to her as she fell into a fitful slumber.</p><p>--</p><p>Kakashi Hatake had not had a good day. In fact, if you ask him, he’d say that it ranked pretty damn high on his list of ‘never want to experience again’ kind of days.</p><p>Genin. A team of bungling, youthful, and much too eccentric freshly graduated genin. His beloved Hokage, Kami above, had <em>cursed</em> him.</p><p>Team 7 may have been created under a clever guise of ‘untapped potential’ but Kakashi had known exactly what lay underneath, Lord Third hadn't been dubbed as 'The Professor' for no reason, clever old monkey that he was.</p><p>The three genin kids that had been selected for him to mentor as per request from the Hokage himself, curse that man, were in better words than not- a complete unprecedented, absolute mess.</p><p>One was a hormonal pinkette kunoichi-in-training that had enough chemical smells around her he was sure she had to have experienced some sort of radiation poisoning. Either that or she had been created from a chemically induced warfare test tube, the thought had entertained him briefly before he shoved it away. Sakura Haruno. <em>His poor nose, kami,</em> he hoped that she would fix that soon. Kunoichi valued their feminine wiles sure, but they were discreet about it, not overflowing with enough pheromones and headache-inducing scents to drive a man to an early grave. Although, now that he had thought about it-with kunoichi they often started young- he supposed that she could be training herself early? It could be a tactic for a seduction mission to be used in the future perhaps? No, if his delicate senses were flooded with her array of scents from five miles away, it was likely that she hadn't any calculating thoughts behind her chemically composed scents other than <em>'smelling favorable'</em> to potential mates-males whatever it was, his Hatake wired brain had provided him with a lot of odd canine vocabulary. There were a lot of things that she would have to correct if she wanted to become a kunoichi, and that was one of the first things that would have to go. That and her obsessiveness with a certain raven haired boy.</p><p>The other was said raven haired boy, the Uchiha survivor. He had been reeking of angst, unbridled hatred and cocky posturing, an arrogant streak that would have to be tamed. Sasuke Uchiha. The young Uchiha had an array of problems, just as the pinkette had, though these ones were familiar to him. Pride. Sorrow. Hatred. Loneliness. Guilt. <em>Shame</em>. His heart lurched as he remembered his younger teammate, Sharingan flaring wildly as he shook himself from the memories of his past that were still haunting him. What good would it do now to reminisce, to remorse about things he couldn't change? He shook his head, desperate to clear his thoughts, denial was a fantastic coping mechanism.</p><p>Continuing to look at the list that was handed to him, he felt his heart falter. A whiskered bright eyed blonde, cerulean eyes so similar to his father’s. <em>Sensei’s kid.</em> Clad in an orange jumpsuit that beaconed “Here I am! Come get me!” Naruto Uzumaki. His breath stuttered, hands clenching against the accursed parchment that held the list of his soon-to-be genin team. Kami, Hokage-sama really was trying to kill him. His guilt was already eating him alive, and now this? Waking up every night with a scream trapped in his throat, unshed tears filling his eyes, breathing erratic as he relieved the trauma of his past.</p><p>Yeah, he was positive Hokage-sama was cursing him.</p><p>With that unwelcoming thought on his mind, Kakashi had decided to sulk-<em>err</em>-no, he wasn’t sulking. Really. He just shunshined out the Hokage's office window, like a normal Jōnin would, and proceeded to hide for the rest of the day. Definitely not sulking. Just taking in the information that he had been cursed with, away from civilization, safely hidden in the comforts of his home. Alone.</p><p>Okay, maybe he was sulking a <em>bit</em>- who wouldn’t in this situation? So he had spent the remainder of the day in his apartment, double checking his security seals, praying to kami that he wouldn't hear Gai come barreling down the streets, yelling about his damnable 'youthfulness' in search of a challenge from his 'esteemed eternal rival.' Yeah, no thanks, he'd lay low for a while. Maybe lower his chakra signal to a minimal amount, maybe hope that no one would come looking for him. Maybe re-check his security seals for the third time.</p><p>Night had finally fallen, and Kakashi felt that it was safe enough to venture out, checking if the coast was clear once, twice, three times before he continued. Paranoia was a common trait in a shinobi, and no, he wasn’t deflecting. Really. He was the Copy-Nin Kakashi, he had no needs for such trivial things. Truly.</p><p>Shunshin-ing to a nearby training ground, Kakashi almost slammed his face into a tree.</p><p>Someone was slouched over on the forest floor, coincidentally, where he had planned to make his destination for some late-night training.</p><p>Scrolls, parchment and ink were spread around the slumped figure, as he tenses. It looked as if a whirlwind of educational vengeance had swept through the area, and there, in the midst of the mess, the slumped figure had straightened momentarily, as he observed that the said figure-was a very agitated looking kunoichi.</p><p>As Kakashi crept closer, maintaining a safe distance in case the kunoichi suddenly sensed his presence, who knew what she would do, kunoichi could be downright <em>scary</em>, he slowed his breathing, a soft exhale releasing as he composed himself. The female shinobi often had their own quirks, a pretty smile could turn into a vengeful snarl in the matter of a second, giving no indication of the sudden switch of pleasantries going south before they snap. Yeah, he’d experienced enough angered kunoichi that he knew better than to alert his presence at the already aggravated looking woman in the clearing.</p><p>She had a snarl on her face, features visible from his vantage point due to the moonlight filtering through the trees, her lips twisted down in an annoyed grimace. Huh, looks like he wasn’t the only one that had a bad day. Somehow that brought a slightly pleasant feeling to him, a vindictive streak humming darkly at someone else's misery aside his own.</p><p>Curious of what a lone kunoichi could be doing in the dead of the night, surrounded in a flurry of parchment and ink, Kakashi slowly crept closer, careful to keep his movement slow and precise.</p><p>Nearing closer to the strange sight, the Copy-Nin could now make out what seemed to be an array of brushstrokes on the scrolls, messily scrawled out on the parchments. A sea of ink seemed to swirl menacingly, wavering in between solid and formless symbols. The grumbling kunoichi was trembling, seeming to struggle with keeping her hands steady as she continued to dip a brush in a pot of ink, swiping at the scrolls with a cautious precision. Her arms had splatters of ink across them, her hands covered in the material as he watched curiously. Interesting, so she had crept out in the dead of the night to practice her penmanship? Kakashi felt a grin pull at his lips as he surveyed the scene before him before he frowned. Those symbols almost looked familiar...where had he seen them before? <em>Hmm…</em></p><p>As he debated whether or not to shunshin closer to the kunoichi, giving her a scare could be fun, vindictive streak flaring up slightly as he shoved it down. Realistically thinking, he decided that the best course of action would be to use his Sharingan. It came with some pros, though he had mainly been dealt with its cons.</p><p>Red and black swirled to life in his once covered eye, shivering slightly at the gentle breeze that billowed softly, caressing the sensitive eye he held. With a fluid movement Kakashi uncovered the rest of his hi-ate, moving his head lower to be at a better vantage point, studying the ink that the kunoichi was swirling onto parchment.</p><p>He paled.</p><p>Was that- <em>was that fuinjutsu?</em></p><p>--</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>--</p><p>Akira had woken to a slight rustling, dawn breaking as she squinted her eyes unhappily at the intruding rays of sunlight filtering through the forest. What time was it? She remembered having a particularly rough night of fuinjutsu practicing, but had she really been so exhausted and frustrated to fall asleep in the open? Curse her luck, she really needed to be more aware.</p><p>A slight rustling in a nearby bush had her once groggy demeanor snapping to full alert. Chakra flaring out, she cursed again, louder this time. Really, <em>curse</em> her luck. Her chakra had briefly brushed against something- or rather <em>someone</em>- as she reigned her chakra signature back in, gripping a hidden kunai from her thigh holster, preparing for an attack. She was sensing a presence far too close to her to be comfortable. Someone had approached her and she had been completely vulnerable. Kami, how could she have let that happen? Body tense, kunai in hand, Akira cautiously approached the figure in the thick shrub, nerves buzzing with overextension from last night's unfavorable results.</p><p>Two more steps and she would be on them, whoever they were, perhaps her imagination was simply running wildly? She hoped so, not ready to deal with a potential threat so early in the morning. Akira took a sharp intake of breath, now or never- she ripped apart the foliage, ready to take on the intruder- only to find...<em>nothing</em> <em>there</em>. Had her insomniac tendencies worn her down? She could have <em>sworn</em> she left another chakra signature close to her-</p><p>“Maa, no need to be so violent kunoichi-<em>kun</em>.” A lazy relaxed voice chimed from her shoulder, and Akira jolted.</p><p>A growl ripping through her throat, deep and low, audible to the intruder as he flinched slightly, a bit taken back by the response. Her growl had sounded from her throat, lips drawn back in a feral snarl, twisting her features in an almost animalistic way. Akira abruptly halted her menacing aura with dashes of KI she had been throwing around, low growling cut off almost immediately as she took a reflexive step back from the mysterious voice that had been vaguely familiar. A shinobi wearing a traditional leaf hi-ate, Jōnin flak jacket, and an eerily calm demeanor.</p><p>Kakashi Hatake was standing a few feet away from her, one hand slumped in his pocket, the other in a lazy wave as he eye-smiled at her from beneath his mask.</p><p>Akira blinked.</p><p>What?</p><p>
  <em>What?</em>
</p><p>“Pleasure to meet you…?” Copy-nin Kakashi continued, pausing respectively towards the end of the sentence, prompting Akira for her name.</p><p>Ah, kami, was this a dream? Was she still asleep? Genjutsu? Kurenai getting back at her for that prank she had pulled <em>months</em> ago? Maybe she just had a really overactive imagination, but at the polite pause now turning a tad awkward at a long moment of silence, she had begrudgingly realized that- <em>no this was not a dream,</em> and<em> yes she was really standing here,</em> in one of Konoha's empty training ground at the crack of dawn, conversing with Kakashi Hatake.</p><p>Huh, well that...was <em>interesting</em>? Interesting, she concluded, staring blankly at the silver haired Jōnin in front of her, before remembering that she should say something rather than being socially inept like usual.</p><p>Clearing her throat, a tad sore from her earlier growling, Akira flushed slightly, trying to fumble around with a reply that would suffice, but her mouth-to-motor functions decided to completely make a fool of her.</p><p>“Shitake-san?”</p><p>Oh <em>kami</em> above, did she really just say that?<em> Nonononono.</em></p><p>The silver haired Jōnin stared at her, friendly wave lowering as he canted his head, puzzled at the response.</p><p>His confusion was evident on his face, somehow visible even through his mask. Oh, fantastic. Way to go Akira. World class first impressionist, just lovely. Truly splendid.</p><p>Akira cleared her throat once more, a little louder this time, flushing crimson in embarrassment before attempting to speak again.</p><p>“Ah, gomen. Akira Fujimori. And you?” She already knew his name, who didn’t? But Akira had been raised with manners, and it would be rude to assume a friendly term with a fellow shinobi she hadn’t truly ever interacted much with. Sure, she had seen him around the village from time to time, waving a polite hello when they crossed paths, but she did that with everyone.</p><p>Kakashi Hatake had obviously done the same since he hadn’t known how to address her, which made sense. Akira may have been dragged along with Kurenai and Asuma any chance they got, but she also liked to distance herself in social outings. Akira had mingled with several fellow shinobi, trading laughs and drinking together. Many shinobi knew her as she did them-she had known of them, but not truly known them.</p><p>“Aa- Kakashi Hatake. I’ve seen you around, though I didn’t expect to run into you here.” Kakashi replied, his voice was oddly...<em>cheerful</em>?</p><p>Hm, not quite what she’d expected, but hey, who was she to judge?</p><p>Akira nodded in agreement, not having expected to meet the silver haired Jōnin here either.</p><p>“So what’s got you so preoccupied this early in the morning, Fujimori-<em>kun</em>?” A lilting tease to his voice, he was likely taking pleasure in her obvious discomfort.</p><p>Sadism was a very common trait in shinobi wasn’t it?</p><p>Akira switched her weight from foot to foot, a nervousness making the kunoichi eager to leave, not sure exactly what she would tell her uninvited guest. Yet, said guest really hadn’t done anything to be on the brunt of receiving the end of her morning grouchiness, so she figured she could at least offer some pleasantries.</p><p>“Fuinjutsu is harder than it looks.”</p><p>Kakashi stared at her, a look of blatant surprise flickering across his visible features as he cocked his head forward, urging her to go into further detail.</p><p>Ink stained hands curled around a bundle of parchment from her sealing kit, dragging out the incomplete scroll with a small frown on her face.</p><p>“Maa- I wasn’t aware that anyone was still practicing that...art?” A lone grey eye studied Akira intently as she <em>grinned</em> proudly, pleased at the reaction she had sparked from the Jōnin.</p><p>Oh. <em>Oh- this could be fun-</em>Akira thought as she rubbed an ink-stained hand across her nose, weighing her options.</p><p>She had already told the Jōnin about her fuinjutsu practices, holding up the unfinished scroll from last night with a sneaky grin. It wouldn’t hurt to tell him a little more, it was unlikely that they’d see each other anytime soon, a niggling warning signal flare going off in her brain that she ignored.</p><p>Plus, he had looked like the type that would be infinite amounts of fun to entertain her curiosity with, fuinjutsu was a vast affinity, a world full of possibilities awaited.</p><p>Gesturing towards the rest of her kit, barely managing to hide the mischievous smirk, she nodded at the silver haired Jōnin, gesturing for him to sit if he really wanted to know more about one of her favorite pastimes. Akira couldn’t help the small almost inaudible chuckle that escaped her, coughing loudly to hide her amusement as she felt mismatched eyes narrow at her in suspicion. The kunoichi sniffed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she began to pull out the reminding sets of scrolls and loose parchment, suddenly feeling much better than last night at what she was about to do.</p><p>The Copy-Nin wouldn’t know what hit him.</p><p>A dark grin creeping across her face, Akira had <em>beamed</em> at the Jōnin's sudden discomfort.</p><p>“Wanna see a magic trick?”</p><p>Oh Kami, this was going to be <em>amazing</em>.</p><p>--</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi had realized with a bit of mortified horror that he had been lurking like a creep, studying the younger shinobi in front of him with a vague amount of interest. He had been unable to move closer to satisfy his curiosity, choosing to sit on his haunches atop a sturdy branch, shifting his weight forward as he contemplated what to do. He couldn’t in good graces stay where he was, watching the fuinjutsu practitioner that was unaware of his accidental voyeurism. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t meant to watch her so long, really. The sun was already rising, dusty pink hues stretching out languidly, replacing the night sky. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi had been too focused on the cursing and rather amusing grumbling kunoichi with ink-stained hands and a kit full of scrolls to notice the time that had passed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span><em>Kami</em>, he really needed to get a hobby at some point, and <em>no</em>, stalking a fellow-<em> even if a bit strange</em>- kunoichi did not fall into the category.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t his best idea, shunshin-ing through the thick overgrowth of trees, appearing from right behind the ink-stained kunoichi, but then again, he wasn’t exactly known for his expertise in common sense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maa, no need to be so violent kunoichi-kun.” Let it be known that Kakashi Hatake was one of those people that didn’t know how to read social cues.<em> At all.</em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fuinjutsu practitioner jolted at his sudden appearance, whirling around to <em>snarl</em> at him with a feral rumbling echoing across the clearing. Kakashi started, surprised at the odd reaction he garnered from the kunoichi, waving one hand in front of him to signify that he had meant no harm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kunoichi’s low, menacing growl halted, a look of brief surprise flickering across her face as he eye-smiled from beneath his trademark mask.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pleasure to meet you…?” He prompted the bristled kunoichi, an odd sense of familiarity as he studied her with a growing interest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where had he seen her before? A hi-ate of the leaf hanging loosely around her neck in a similar fashion to Genma, ink stains across the fabric of the cloth yet the silver plating was nearly immaculate. <em>Maa- that was almost comical,</em> he thought as he stifled a snicker of amusement, waiting for her response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would she glare at him, eyes vengeful and bitter, cursing him for a death he could have prevented? Or would she be wary, rumors of his cold-hearted ANBU days sparking her survival instincts, flickering away from him as soon as she was able? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would she even offer a response to him at all?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shitake-san?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What fell from her lips was a sentence he had honestly never imagined hearing from...well...anyone, really. Had she honestly called him a type of mushroom? Truly? How were Kakashi Hatake and Shitake anything remotely similar<em>- oh.</em> Kakashi grimaced. He could somewhat see the resemblance, even if it was a bit small, of her accidental verbal fumble. His last name did share a similarity in pronunciation with the plant based organism, which he hadn't thought about before<em>- huh, interesting. </em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, that had not been the reaction he had expected, blinking slightly in confusion. She really was an odd one, even for kunoichi standards, though he didn't have much room to judge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A moment of pause, said kunoichi flushed darkly in embarrassment, and he almost thought that she was going to dart away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She cleared her throat, flush dying down a bit as she corrected herself, bringing her hand to her face, a nervous gesture he supposed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah- gomen. Akira Fujimori, and you?” She responded hesitantly, and he was briefly shocked by her pleasant smile and polite composure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akira Fujimori.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><em>Why did that name sound so familiar? Why did she look so familiar?</em> Kakashi pondered, trying to drag any available memories of the ink-stained kunoichi to his mind, finding none. How odd, he rather prided himself on his extensive knowledge of shinobi in the village, not knowing one kunoichi though<em>- one fuinjutsu practicing kunoichi-</em> bothered him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could have sworn that he knew this woman. Somewhere, somehow Kakashi knew her, he had to. Though he would have plenty of time to think on the matter later, right now he should offer a response. Kakashi would give his own name and due pleasantries in return, that would be the proper thing to do. <em>See? He wasn’t entirely socially reclusive.</em> Really. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aa- Kakashi Hatake. I’ve seen you around, though I didn’t expect to run into you here.” Kakashi replied cheerily, observing the raise of her brows, though she didn’t comment on his playful tone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what’s got you so preoccupied this early in the morning, Fujimori-kun?” A lilting tease to his voice, taking great pleasure in Akira’s obvious discomfort. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was expressive, that much he had noted, a little amused at the variations of physical indicators he could influence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi waited for Akira’s-<em> what a clever name she had, he wondered which kanji she had been given for it, knowing that in a certain stroke it could be portrayed as ‘graceful strength' whilst in another it could be intended as ‘sunlight’-</em> no, now was not the time to interpreting kanji, right now he was waiting for her to answer his question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi had to admit that he was a little curious to see how she would respond. Would she shift the conversation to avoid conflict? Would she send him away, now that they had exchanged pleasantries? Would she lie, or speak the truth? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuinjutsu is harder than it looks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi stared at Akira, a look of blatant surprise flickering across his visible features as he cocked his head forward, urging the kunoichi in front of him to go into further detail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was honestly a little surprised that she had spoken the truth so readily. Deceit was a common trait in shinobi, having integrated the reflectiveness into their everyday life, so Kakashi was taken a bit by surprise that she had given an honest statement without an ultimatum. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maa- I wasn’t aware that anyone was still practicing that...art?” A lone grey eye studied Akira intently as she <em>grinned</em> proudly, pleased at the reaction she had sparked from the Jōnin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi glanced nervously at the kunoichi in front of him, a building sense of anxiety bubbling at the deranged grin she had given. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanna see a magic trick?” She coyly asked, a smile that spoke lengths of chaotic trouble he did not want to have any partaking in, Kakashi realized something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. <em>Oh. This woman was insane.</em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>He swallowed thickly at the mischievous smile that crept across her face, mentally counting how many seconds he’d have to shunshin-ing the hell out of there, though <em><strike>begrudgingly</strike></em>, he stayed. After her sudden and abrupt change in moods, Kakashi didn’t have the heart to walk away. She had changed her disposition into one that, even if it did have an aura of sadism to it, felt genuinely thrilled, content to have someone to speak with. He knew that if he left now, that cheerful disposition would likely never present itself around him again, much less the kunoichi herself-<em><strike> and he wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of that.</strike></em> For some odd reason, Akira had something about her that just drew him in, made him curious, made him think. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Huh, he’d have to rationalize that interesting fact at another time, he mused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, against his better judgement and the warning alarm bells going off in rapid fire inside his head, he stayed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was his first mistake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akira, as she introduced herself, cracked her knuckles in a loud set of creaking joints, rolling her neck forward to perform the same move. An oddly satisfying loud pop resounding from each joint rolling back into place. <em>Huh, interesting-</em> he thought with a knowing grin, he did the same thing and most people couldn’t stand it, saying that the sounds were too disturbing, wincing in sympathy at the creaks and pops. Kakashi found it soothing. Perhaps Akira was similar to him in that pattern. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Musing at the thoughts he settled his weight evenly as he crouched next to the ink-stained kunoichi, observing her carefully. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Akira Fujimori, huh? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She had a smaller stature than he did, though that wasn’t hard to accomplish for most. Her frame, though smaller than his, was surprisingly sturdy-built. Akira had a clear definition of muscle, sinewy limbs that flexed fluidly as she stretched lazily. She had long slender hands, similar to a musicians or a geishas, though he could see the scars hidden underneath stained skin- she had faced adversities before. Kakashi inclined his gaze towards Akira, taking note of her posture, subconsciously pleased that she held herself with pride and intellectualness instead of arrogance. Most kunoichi were built with more femininity, often wearing revealing clothes or maintaining complicated yet pretty hairstyles. Kakashi would never say this to a fellow kunoichi, but they often held themselves in an aggressive mannerism, subconsciously bristling or preening towards reactions from others, especially males.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akira did not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had an untraditional style to wearing her hair, no long locks bound up in deadly senbon or poisoned braids, instead she had an oddly choppy style to her mane. Thick full tresses were close cut to her face, it had looked like she had taken a kunai to it, uneven lengths that wildly curled around her. Some strands longer than the other, long layered bangs on each side of her face-and<em> was that dye?</em> Kakashi had noted that she had no clear indication of a natural base to her colored hair, though there were streaks of grey that shimmered in the light, similar yet different than his own. Huh, interesting. Often kunoichi were creatures-<em>err</em>-women of pride, taking a great deal of cautious to preening their hair, being in touch with their feminine side. Akira though- he chuckled as he watched her blow a flyway strand from her face, she didn’t seem to share the sentiments.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hands seemed to be permanently dyed in ink<em>- better than blood-</em> Kakashi cut off the thought abruptly. It was better to stuff those kinds of traumatic musings in the overflowing box of things he was denying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he continued to watch the strangely familiar kunoichi before him, his breath caught in his throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How had he not noticed it before? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Akira locked gazes with him, a thoughtful look on her face as she tilted her head, puzzled by his blatant staring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it Hatake-san?” She queried, twin sets of scrolls unraveling as she continued with her seal work, pausing to look up at him with a flicker of unease. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi hummed in thought, shifting forwards to get a closer look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there something-oh.” A brief pause. “You’re thrown off by ‘em aren’t you?” Akira chuckles, brushing her odd colored bangs away from her face as she gestures to what Kakashi had been staring at. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mouth suddenly felt very dry, when did that happen? Huh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dark greyish blue hued eyes- though not uncommon- wasn’t what drew his attention forwards. It was the shaping of her pupils. Slitted gaze fixed on his own, and he shivered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Feral. Calculating.<em> Wild. </em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reminded him of his ninken, though they held a rawness to them that was akin to that of the nine-tails. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were foreign, shocking, entrancing.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Animalistic.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span> “-Breathtaking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh Kami, of course his brain would decide now was the time to fumble out something stupid. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There goes his second mistake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aegean grey eyes widened as Akira reeled back, parchment crumpling underneath her skillful hands as she barked out a nervous laughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Err.. thank you for that. I suppose it’s better than the usual remarks, albeit a bit strange Hatake-san.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi cursed his social ineptness. Although Akira had been understanding, thankfully not taking his lack of filter as perverse as most assumed he was, it was still a bit humiliating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akira’s nervousness seemed to melt away in seconds, forgoing the awkward sentiment that tumbled from his lips in favor of unraveling a set of scrolls. Her face lit up as she held a set of twin scrolls in front of her, a genuine smile on her face. Grey-blue slitted pupils enlarging slightly in excitement. Those were the same set of scrolls that she had crumpled in surprise minutes ago and they were covered in a patchwork of ink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi paled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What sort of <em>‘magic trick’</em> was she going to show him? Suddenly finding this idea lacking self-preservation, he began to slowly inch back, only to freeze as an ink-stained hand shot out, as quick as a projectile kunai. Akira’s hand was <em>gripping</em> the front of his Jōnin jacket with a surprisingly firm hold as Kakashi blinked blankly. He had to fight down the urge to <em>dismember</em> the intrusive limb, instincts screaming at him to eliminate the threat, inhaling sharply. Maiming a fellow shinobi was typically frowned upon, but Kakashi’s nerves were tingling, and he wasn’t sure why the heavy weight of her hand on him was so conflicting. If any other person were to try and do something as bold and foolishly as Akira just had- they would be permanently disabled, shinobi or not. Yet, yet-<em> for some indescribable reason</em>- he allowed her hand to stay where it was. Lingering heat burning uncomfortably from her grip, her slender stained hand was alien to him, feeling the intimate contact scorching him even through the thick material of his vest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Therein lies his third mistake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aa- we’re not done yet Hatake-san. Just be patient, I only need one more thing.” Akira’s voice was honeyed and sweet, but the vice-like grip she had on his jacket spoke otherwise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi sweat dropped. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She really was insane wasn’t she?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The fuinjutsu practitioner grinned at him again, charming features twisting into a less appealing sadistic smirk, swiping her thumb across her teeth as she drew blood, swiping her finger across the scrolls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><em>Charming? Appealing?</em> Kakashi blinked a few times, when had he started to refer to her with words like that? Huh, well just one more thing to shove into the mental chest of procrastinated denial in his already scrambled brain. <em>Those would be tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow’s me.</em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>A curl of smoke arose from the parchments, twin scrolls humming to life as chakra buzzed around them. Kakashi immediately shoved the hand away from him, jumping back from the scrolls and the snickering kunoichi. Akira’s eyes crinkled in humor at his reaction, smoke clearing as a figure arises from the scrolls, two glowing yellow eyes fixating directly on the form of the silver hair Jōnin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah, and there was that last mistake, blindly encouraging the kunoichi known as Akira Fujimori to use fuinjutsu. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had irrationally letting his curiosity best him, Kakashi cursed himself silently. <em>He really should have known better.</em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi really, truly, most definitely- should know better than to let his curiosity guide him. He grimaced as he begrudgingly sank into a defensive stance, already internalizing his actions and the consequences thrust upon him. Low hums of chakra vibrating through the forest, those eerily yellow eyes staring him down as he swallowed thickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Really, he should have known better. Anyone that practiced fuinjutsu in this day and age was bound to be some sort of trouble. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just his luck, huh?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
--</p><p>“Teme-Hime, haven’t we told you to not summon us when you want to show off, hmm? Just because no one likes you doesn't mean they’ll change their mind when they see us, even if we are the superior species….Teme-Himeee.” A low purr resounded from the large feline, licking its paws lazily as the smoke cleared from the scrolls beneath the creature.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Bastard-princess. </em></p><p>Akira grinned, suppressing the urge she had to step on her feline summons’ tail, knowing that she would be reprimanded for that. But sometimes, things of pure accidental mishappenings, circumstantial bad luck<em>- things of that nature-</em> they would sometimes just align with each other in a way that would grant a much needed smack or two.</p><p><em>Shocking, huh?</em> Akira thought so too.</p><p>Fate or destiny<em>- whatever it was called-</em> was a fickle thing.</p><p>If Akira had been dealt a hand in her life that had graced her with a karmatic personality, and if certain happenstances were to affect those around her<em>- not that she would ever admit to her rather sadistic tendencies-</em> there was no one to blame except fate itself. </p><p>The kunoichi smirked slightly, internally monologuing to herself, priding her genius nature<em> not at all</em> thinking about her rather sadistic tendencies to level the playing field so to speak.</p><p><em>Of course not,</em> Akira was a kunoichi of the Leaf, she had <em>some</em> pride. Obviously she wouldn’t be scheming over little things like how best to prank a certain cigarette smoking shinobi for footing the overpriced bill from one of the dango shops to her two nights ago. <em>Not at all.</em></p><p>She cleared her throat, shoving the scheming aside to focus on the feline in front of her, smoke billowing around his webbed paws, a lazy knowing grin on the summoned fishing cat’s face. </p><p><em>Koja was a little shit wasn’t he?</em> She was torn between chuckling in amusement or frowning in a reprimanding nature. He never changed, that sly knowing grin always creeping across his spotted bronze maw, as if laughing at her. Koja’s arrogance could be smelt a mile away, that smug little shit, always up to no good.</p><p>The corners of her lips tugged upwards, a wry grin at her summons little acts of smug defiance and a touch of gruff affection. She hoped he never changed. Actually, scratch that thought, she hoped he would at the very least, that smug feline would hopefully try to broaden his vocabulary, a tick of irritation forming across her temple as she closed her eyes.</p><p>
  <em>Of course her summons would call her something so adorable, so loving, so cute. Of course. </em>
</p><p>Akira’s grin darkened ever so slightly.</p><p>
  <em>Whichever bastard feline came up with that nickname for her title better hope that Kami is on their side next time she is reverse summoned.  </em>
</p><p>The leaf kunoichi blew a strand of colored hair out of her face as she twisted her lips into a pout, glancing at the silver haired Jōnin behind her. He was looking rather affronted by the scene in front of him, though Akira couldn’t really blame him, she had summoned her feline comrades as her much anticipated ‘magic trick.’ Not anything too flashy or eye-catching, she was being somewhat discreet, and after all, if Akira had used her fuinjutsu skills as she had wanted to, the Jōnin beside her might be a little worse for wear than just a disgruntled look.</p><p>She frowned as she recalled some of her rather unsuccessful sealing skills, sparing a look at her left hand, a phantom pain throbbing through her ink-stained fingers. <em>That exploding tag had nearly taken off her hand, she was lucky she had been gifted with rather quick reflexes from her habitual nervousness.</em></p><p>Smoothing out the frown across her face, the leaf kunoichi studied her companion, a small grin tugging at her lips at what she saw.</p><p>Kakashi was visibly confused, and if the continuous rising arch of his brows were anything to go off of, then one could tell that the Copy-Cat Nin who had experienced a lifetime of battles and the after effects of them, clearly wasn’t prepared for what he had just witnessed.</p><p>The kunoichi who called herself Akira Fujimori had blindsided him, <em>The Kakashi Hatake,</em> the man who had copied over a thousand different jutsu, the shinobi of the leaf that had inherited the infamous <em>Sharingan</em>, the genius child prodigy, the once unrivaled and feared ANBU member- although he wasn't allowed to give his identity- his skills were still praised and he had one of the most successful mission rankings.</p><p>Kakashi was sent reeling. He didn’t understand why he was being treated like he was simply another one the countless shinobi in Konoha by the kunoichi calling herself Akira Fujimori. A kunoichi that had vaguely managed to impress him, throwing no caution to the wind, instead jumping straight into business.</p><p>Kakashi hadn't even been aware of the kunoichi standing before him, his curistoty piqued as he realized that he had in fact heard of her. If memory served correctly she was one of the fellow shinobi that was always shadowing Asuma and Kurenai, usually being corralled in between the couple, their stances were protective of her. Kakashi though he lacked social skills, had vaguely recalled the distant memory of the face of the pretty ink-stained kunoichi once or twice before, usually seeing a flash of her oddly colored hair or a foxlike grin in the corner of his eye, before he moved his attention elsewhere, unknowing that she had simply blended into the crowd around her. </p><p>
  <em>Huh, interesting. </em>
</p><p>He blinked back at the scene in front of him, processing what was happening.</p><p>Akira had apparently summoned a large cat, a fishing cat if he were to guess by the webbing in his paws and his sleek spotted pelt, and she was grinning at him as if she had just secured a seat for the position as one of the Kage. </p><p>He blinked again, still trying to process. </p><p>Although Kakashi wasn’t one for smugness, he had felt a bit of his pride begin to crumble as he stared at her, a mischievous grin on her face that he felt was something that he would likely begin to see more often than not. He wasn’t quite sure if he liked or extremely disliked that fact. He also wasn’t quite sure what the hell the strange kunoichi was trying to do. Was she trying to prove something or was she simply messing with him? </p><p>Kakashi shook his head, he didn’t know. There was a tugging feeling in his chest that he was momentarily aware of, a bubbling sensation of a chuckle trying to rise to the surface. Why did he want to laugh? Was it the sheer incredulous bewilderment of the situation, or was it something else?</p><p>He was rather confused.</p><p>Akira snickered at the look of sheer wonder on her fellow shinobi’s face, coughing to hide it before he could see. She thought she had been successful until he threw her a dirty look as if to say, <em>‘What the hell Akira? Cat summons aren’t even in fashion anymore.’ </em></p><p>Akira did what she does best and pretended to not see the disbelief or the narrowing look of suspicion on his face.</p><p>Kakashi was likely trying to piece together her relations to the feline summoning pact, gears turning furiously in thought. Akira knew that her summoning nin were a rather peculiar choice of pact nin, seeing that only one clan in the village of the hidden leaf that were cat summoners had long since perished. A tragedy that befell many innocents, one of her closest friends- ironically the one who had inspired her to create a pact with said feline nin in question- was one of the cornerstones of the tragedy. <em>So many innocent lives that were so cruelly taken away, their fire snuffed out. </em></p><p>Cat summons were not a common nin summoning contract, most would avoid any felines in question after seeing the rather gruesome tragedies that befell those who contacted the felines in hope of forming a pact. The people of Konoha -though not all- but most, were a superstitious type. They had been actively seeking out other summons, perhaps hoping that the felines would fade away from existence just as their masters had before them. The clan that had all but almost withered away, their trademark summoning feline nin were left with no one to call forth for their guidance, for their companionship.</p><p>Though not one to believe in superstitions- Akira herself had lived through her fair share of traumatic experiences, had lived through the very tragedy that had befallen the once proud clan- she had faltered. Whilst she was ashamed of her actions, she had hesitated to create a summoning pact of her own with the feline comrades that now stood by her side. Only briefly, but a moment's pause nonetheless, guilt gnawing at her when she had questioned what the hell she was doing, willingly entering a contract with the beast nins that she knew she had no right to inherit.</p><p>The ink-stained kunoichi had of course chosen to continue, being the stubborn, hardheaded shinobi that she was. She successfully formed a pact of her own with the felines, cursing her hesitation and guilt ridden conscience. Akira had taken a bit of time to heal old wounds, taking more time than she had wanted to- having been haunted by fading memories, uncanny resemblances to her past that these ferocious felines had tied with them. </p><p>Akira let her mind wander, a genuine smile on her face as she did so. She had begun melting into her subconscious, bright yellow eyes and that trademark lazy grin from Koja bringing back old memories.</p><p>
  <em>She remembered the first time she had successfully formed a contract based summons, chuckling at the memories that resurfaced. It was a little over six months ago, when Akira had finally mustered up enough courage to call out to any felines that would be open to forming a pact with her, nerves singing in anticipation as she awaited a response. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It had taken some time, a little over three or four weeks of relentless fuinjutsu sealing, hands burning with each movement from holding different seal signs, her brow was covered in sweat, chakra coils almost depleted as she continued to make her way to a forested area of Konoha, continuing to call upon the summons every single day.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It had taken a lot of blood, sweat and a semi-permanent scarring across her thumbs, but it had finally happened. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>A contract was given, and Akira couldn’t be happier. She had beamed, shouting with joy that she had finally done it, she had kept her promise. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Being reverse summoned was not something she had accounted for, but there she was, suddenly feeling as if her body was in a different portion of space and time, looking around wildly at her surroundings. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’re one stubborn kit, aren’t ya?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A low somewhat familiar timbre purred lazily at the fuinjutsu practitioner, his voice faintly recognizable to the kunoichi as she whirled around- eyes widening with comical surprise. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>There, in a reverse summoning that the snarky little bastard had formed, perched atop a large stone boulder, sat Koja. His webbed paw rose out of the smoke in the clearing, a bronze tawny spotted pelt gleaming through the sunlight that was filtering through, a snarl of a grin on his face as he fixed his gaze on the kunoichi that had been trying to form a contract with his kind, quite persistently trying to form a contract, at that too, he had to give the kit some praise. Tenacity was a rare trait, yet he wasn’t surprised that it was Akira that had been the kit that had been persistently troublesome enough to break through the barriers of the feline world and the shinobi world. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He gave a rumbling chuff of approval, his kit may not be the same bumbling shinobi youth that had firmly attached herself at his master’s side, but she still had that same fiery will of hers that shone just- if not more- brightly than before. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Akira had wanted to form her own contracts, and Koja couldn’t be prouder at his kit, soon to be master. All grown up, he wished that his kind eyed master would be able to see this, see her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The large feline leapt from atop his perch, landing gracefully beside the bewildered kunoichi, giving her a toothy grin that she returned tenfold. </em>
</p><p>Akira unknowingly lets another soft smile slip past her usual callous-yet-teasing demeanor. The silver haired Jōnin that had been pondering her actions had jolted abruptly.</p><p>That smile that she had on her face, it wasn’t like her other grins that promised retribution. It was <em>softer</em> somehow, almost as if she were looking at something or someone precious to her.</p><p>It made him feel rather uncomfortable all the sudden, and Kakashi wasn’t sure what to do with that information. </p><p>He shifted his weight in between his feet, before looking away from the kunoichi. The silver haired Jōnin felt odd, a sense of discomfort strumming through him, as if he were intruding on something private. </p><p>Respectfully, he kept his gaze averted, though there was a burning amount of curiosity that had been running through his veins, Kakashi wasn’t a <em>complete </em>idiot. He knew that even if he had wanted to press for more information on the strange kunoichi in front of him, it wasn’t the right time to do so. Akira had her guard down, and he wasn’t going to latch onto that, even if he knew that she was showing a viable weakness in front of him, and he could easily disarm her if he wanted to, taking any information he had sought for himself. </p><p>Something about that smile though, it felt familiar. He knew that look quite well, as he had shared the expression, quite frequently if he might add. Although, the difference between the two expressions was that one held a depth of grief, of regret, a sense of reverence almost, whilst the other held those same emotions- yet, there was a softness about them. Not quite so raw and shameful, almost as if by the look in her eyes, she had made peace. <em>The ghosts of her past still haunted her, yet she had already begun to move forward</em>. Kakashi wondered how she was able to do so, briefly feeling torn between jealousy and awe. Shaking his musing away the silver haired Jōnin had returned back to his original thoughts. It wouldn’t feel right if he were to use her momentary distraction as a means to an end, no matter how badly he wanted answers from the secretive playful kunoichi.</p><p>After all, he had plenty of time to pry information from the kunoichi later, that is, when she wasn’t divulging distant memories of the past.</p><p>Choosing to survey the forest around him, Kakashi crossed his arms, a distant thought floating by. Had he prepared something to eat for an early breakfast back at his apartment, or would he need to visit the market again?<em> Hmm… he couldn’t quite remember.</em></p><p>Akira didn’t notice, too caught up in the maze of her mind, but Koja did.</p><p>The feline had narrowed his eyes in a thoughtful consideration towards the unfamiliar shinobi, filing away bits of useful information for a later use before turning his keen gaze back towards his master. She was lost in thought, a soft smile on her face as her eyes clouded over. </p><p><br/>
<em>Akira was recalling that feeling of her heart faltering as she stared into a familiar shade of curious yellow eyes she wasn't sure she’d ever see again. She can still remember his grumbling gruff ‘displeased’ tone, teasing her, asking her what had taken so long. A tug at her heartstrings as she looked at the fishing cat, hiding her feelings of shame and regret behind a grin as they tousled around together. She remembered grooming his long spotted fur as they found themselves falling into a familiar routine, brushing his soft fur and chatting for hours on end, catching one another up with their lives.</em>
</p><p>
  <em> Koja. </em>
</p><p>Akira’s memories swirled in the fog in her mind, her head had pounded, breaths coming out in uneven shaking pants. The lighthearted feeling that came with remembering her first experience with summoning were rapidly dwindling, a feeling of panic overwhelming her instead. The soft smile had twisted into a grimace, feeling more memories trying to filter their way through as she fought them down, heart thumping wildly. </p><p>The silver haired Jōnin had darted his gaze back towards Akira, shoving aside his earlier musings as concern bled through his usual cheerful demeanor, his eyes narrowing in keen calculation. <em>Was she having an episode?</em> Kakashi knew those all too well, a frown tugging at his lips as he continued to observe the once grinning and playful look that had painted her features now twisting into a pained grimace. His hands twitched, unsure if he should intervene. There was the fact at hand that he wasn’t the most socially inept at handling emotions or anything really close-knit in a similar fashion, but there was also the fact that he would have to cross paths with a rather large feline summon that was staring him down. </p><p>A curved snarl adorned the feline’s rather large spotted jaw, equally large fangs gleaming as he gnashed his teeth. Bright yellow eyes were glowing, pupils dilated as the feline summon stared worriedly at his summoner, fur bristling in anticipation. </p><p>Kakashi decided to wait a little longer before stepping in.  </p><p>
  <em>Koja. </em>
</p><p>He was a reminder that the past had been real. That after that night, after that happened to her teammate, to her comrade, to her friend, Akira was the one that had prevailed, not him.</p><p>Akira bristled as she recalled a distant memory, a persistent memory. She had so many, had been keeping so many at bay that some, like this one, had been working its way through her mind. The memories that she had so desperately willed away were able to pierce her momentary faulty mental defenses, an achingly- familiar sense of melancholy began to wrap its way around her, slithering into her unprepared mind.</p><p>Akira blinked languidly as a clouded look started to fall over her eyes. Pale feline azure hues slid closed as she felt a tug in her chakra, her mind fabricating a bittersweet memory. She felt like she was being submerged inside her own mind, as if she was being dragged down into an abyss of her own making. Deeper and deeper, she was sinking further into her subconscious.</p><p> <em>A vision of a black haired boy with a mischievous streak, crimson eyes, a crooked grin, stubborn yet kind hands, a child’s hands,  latching themselves on to you at any given chance. A phantom-like agility, that damn body flicker technique getting the best of her younger Genin -post -Chūnin's self, folding her tiny arms in a stubbornness that few could shake her from as the boy in question shook with laughter, earning a few hard stares that were easily forgotten by the charming smile he offered. </em></p><p>Akira was remembering a distant memory. A memory that she had cherished, a memory that often would linger in the crevices of her mind when she called upon her summons. There was one feline in particular that always had her forcing down a bittersweet smile, Koja.</p><p>She would laugh as he snarled his fangs at her with a knowing grin, his attempts of witty humor that left her sides aching from laughter. His knowing golden yellow eyes that would somber when he saw her start to slip. He would bump against her legs, shoving a larger sinew-furred shoulder against her own, keeping her steady.</p><p>Akira could picture her Koja now, remembering how he had been back then. How both of them had been. An achingly familiar sense of guilt began creeping through her as she recalled a distant time that she had far out-lived. </p><p>
  <em>Two small felines tumbling about, claws barely grown in, fur more fluff than muscles, a rumbling purr of approval as they tousled about. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>One kit had a tawny golden-bronze pelt, his fur was smooth and still growing in, but the spots that adorned his fur were mesmerizing, his webbed paws striking at the other kit in a playful manner. This kit was named Koja. He had a strong, sturdy build to him, his joints were sinuous and fluid as he held a raw physical strength to him, yellow curious eyes always darting to the other kit in question, Sora, that troublesome yet beloved kit needed to be kept in his sight as they would play. Koja was protective of his comrade, and in the life of a shinobi, even as a pact summoning nin, they were to fight alongside one another, protect their masters, serve their purposes and give protection to the younger kits. Koja would keep close to his master and his master’s companion, the ink-stained grinning female that his master had accepted into his clan, had even begun to train the female with the rest of the kits, he rather liked her, she always brought a grooming brush after a long training session, stroking his fur with kind hands. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The other kit in question, was the smaller of the two physically, but had far more energy than the fishing cat. His fur longer than the other, instead of sinewy muscles and a sturdy build, this kit had a graceful stretch to his frame, limber and long limbed, agile and fast. He was named Sora, a name given to him by his kind eyed master. Sora held his head high, preening with pride as his thick ebony fur would fluff out in pride or frazzle statically about in embarrassment when the two kits were called upon by their masters. Whilst Sora may not have been as mature nor as stocky or strength induced as his comrade Koja, the fishing cat, he had a gifted ability of his own. His nose reached far greater lengths than the others in the litter, his senses were more enhanced, and he was built for speed and took a shine to retrieval missions that his master would call for his help for. Sora knew that his master had offered the ink-stained female, the one with kind hands and a soothing voice, a place into his clan, his home. Sora was ecstatic, he loved the attention he received from the kind female, her fingers that would brush his fur on a particularly tiring day, her snarls and playfulness that would cause his master to brighten instantly on days he had seemed forlorn, she was a good fit for the clan, so he would be more than willingly to accept her into their family, even if his master hadn’t said anything. After all, Sora was smart, way smarter than that bullheaded Koja, he should be awkward for his genius traits, with a nice long grooming session. No no, he wasn’t jealous that he had seen the kind eyed female giving him extra brushings, not at all. Sora was smart, a genius level of intellect. Where were his extra brushes?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The two kits were batting one another around in a compound far too small for the sheer amount of fires that were burning brightly, the amount of life that surrounded the place. A lazy grin on the fishing cat’s jaw as he threw one particularly rough jab towards the ebony long-limbed one who narrowly evaded, fur fluffing out in a dramatized effort.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nin summons were intelligent, far above average from regular domesticated animals, they were sharp, clever, keen, strong, loyal. More often than not, the summons in question had personalities similar to match, spelling out a disaster for the unfortunate soul that contracted with them, or at least that’s what her scarlet-eyed teammate had told Akira. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Truth be told, she really didn’t know too much about the feline nin-summons other than the fact that they were awfully cute looking, and sometimes she would sneak a grooming brush into the compound after training when she thought no one would notice. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The impish boy that had introduced her to his summons had been a boy she had grown to cherish. His scarlet eyes were always following after her. In those times her hair was much longer and her childish frame was much shorter, but that same playful demeanor was unchanged. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The two younger shinobi were practically inseparable. They would always spend time together, whether they were training, playing, eating, anywhere they could go together they would do their damn well hardest to be a joint package. Always wreaking havoc, causing a mess, grinning youthful shinobi that would race through the village with two feline-nin chasing at their heels.</em>
</p><p>Akira remembered those times like they were yesterday. </p><p>
  <em>Crimson eyes that stubbornly followed her was something she was familiar with, but now, that mesmerizing shade of red was something she would seek out herself. </em><br/>
<em>Akira had catalogued every expression she would see her companion make, filing away that information for later. Sanguine hues slanting with amusement, scarlet orbs widening in surprise, ruby iris’s narrowing in thought, a furious scarlet blush as he would squeeze his eyes shut tightly in embarrassment. </em>
</p><p>She wouldn't be able to see that familiar crimson shade ever again. </p><p>
  <em>Wouldn’t be able to hear that mischievous laughter that had echoed so loudly against the walls of the compound. The walls that were once brimming with life, now barely recognizable of its former glory. A familiar symbol painted across the walls that were far too thin, the memories spilling from it far too loud-</em>
</p><p>
  <strike>
    <em>“Self-sacrifice… a nameless shinobi who protects peace from within its shadow…"</em>
  </strike>
</p><p>
  <em>Crimson, so similar to the shade of red she’d grown to love, but this crimson was not the one that she had been familiar with. This shade of red was dripping down her arms, it brushed across her face as she shuttered. This red was covering her skin, it was sinking into her bones- - she- she didn’t like this type of red. This red wasn’t like Shisui's. Why were there people screaming? Did they not like that red either? Why couldn’t she find her friend? Where was everyone? Why was the red around her so wet, why did it feel like it was raining? Why didn’t she know any better? Why? Why? Why-</em>
</p><p>A rough webbed paw swatted at the dissociating kunoichi, a rumbling growl rising from the large feline’s chest as he narrowed knowing yellow eyes down at her, waiting for her to respond. Waiting for the kunoichi to blink away the memories that she had been entangled in. </p><p>Akira jolted, that brief yet lingering sadness in her mind slowly easing down as she blinked it away. Forced it down.</p><p>A nervousness bubbled in her chest as she barked out a laugh, the sound was jagged, as if falling glass as she rubbed her eyes, giving the large feline in question a nod of gratitude. </p><p>Squinting one lone grey eye towards the kunoichi, Kakashi stared at Akira, confusion palpable in the air as he scratched the side of his head, his thick silver locks were gravity defying and she briefly wondered if he used some sort of jell or if his natural chakra affinities were what made the silver mess constantly look as if it had been electrocuted. If she remembered correctly didn’t Asuma say something about his lighting affinity?</p><p><em> Aah~ who cares, she can ask the silver haired Jōnin about his daily grooming regimen on another day.</em> She thought to herself as she studied the said Jōnin in mention with a guarded sense of interest. </p><p>Right now, she wasn’t quite sure she liked the way he was looking at her. It was as if he were torn between the thoughts of <em>‘How? Cat. Why?’</em> and ‘<em>Where did you go, when you were right here?’</em> Along with what she thought to be a sneaking look of hesitation to willingly interact with her again. </p><p>--</p><p>Although unbeknownst to the downtrodden kunoichi, Kakashi was thinking the very opposite of what Akira had assumed. </p><p>His curiosity had been piqued even further.</p><p>He had been studying her as she returned from her memories, noting that she had the same look on her face that he had after ghosts of his past had haunted him. Kakashi had been curious before, a kunoichi training in the middle of the night up to the breaking of dawn. She had been practicing fuinjutsu at that, Kami knows what else she had up her sleeves.</p><p>But now seeing that she held that same sadness inside her that he did, that every shinobi did, he had begun to wonder. </p><p>Behind that faux cheerfulness, underneath that grin that promised trouble, beneath those strange azure feline eyes, what did she hide? </p><p><em>Was she like him? Were they more similar than he had thought? Did she also lose someone precious to her? How was she able to continue onwards, by herself nonetheless?</em> Kakashi frowned, he could take everything that he had thus far studied about Akira and apply it to himself. That thought scared him a bit, but at the same time it almost...excited him? </p><p>He paled, the gears in his brain already creaking in effort at the idea that had suddenly sprung in his genius-like mind. Kakashi felt something inside of him shift, akin to how his nerves sang before he entered battle.</p><p><em>Could he learn something from her?</em> She was so odd that it made his clever genius brain fizzle with a fixated concentration he rarely used.</p><p>Somehow, this kunoichi and her wild behavior, her knowing foxy grin, her azure feline eyes, her quirky personality- everything about her seemed like one giant intricate, dangerous yet enticing puzzle.</p><p>If he played his cards right, he could acquire something valuable.</p><p>Akira Fujimori was a mystery to him, and he could never leave something that intrigued him alone until he had found an answer that he was satisfied with. Kami- curse his genius genetics. He knew that he was in over his head as soon as he had spied the familiar symbols of fuinjutsu from her scrolls in the forest, but Kakashi had to know more.</p><p>His Hatake side clambering up, intrigued at the intensity he had been studying the kunoichi. His stubborn interest was something that a more simplistic part of his brain was pawing over, as if a part of him already was drawn in by the tricky female. <em>Curse his canine brain and Hatake instincts.</em> Wasn't it enough that he already had to think of his genin mess of a team as his ‘<em>pups</em>’ - he was certainly not going to refer to the thought-provoking kunoichi, Akira Fujimori as <em>‘tricky female.’</em></p><p>Kakashi shuddered, thankful that he had versed himself with keeping a well-maintained composure. </p><p>Musings of unimportant things set aside, Kakashi focused back on the matter at hand. </p><p>He simply couldn’t let it go. If he let something, someone as mysterious, as curious as Akira slip from his grasp now that there were pieces finally being laid out- only to be yanked away- he’d go insane. <em>Maa~ He was definitely in over his head. </em>He pondered as his musing started back up, a thoughtful look on his face.</p><p>
  <em>Could he convince her to let him inside that clockwork maze of her mind? Could he figure out what made her tick, what made her so interesting? Why does she have the summons of an Uchiha? What rank was she? Why had he never seen her before? Why was she studying Fuinjutsu? Why did she seem so familiar, yet so foreign? Why did he feel as if he had known her at some point? What was her purpose of being a shinobi? Was she really from Konoha?</em>
</p><p>He knew that it would be difficult, but he was <em>Kakashi Hatake</em>, once he set his mind to something, he’d do it, come hell or highwater. </p><p>Kakashi wasn’t sure where the sudden intrusive very not-Kakashi-like behavior was coming from, well he knew, but he didn’t want to admit that he felt a challenge being presented from said kunoichi in question. Ah, now that he thinks about it, he’d have to be careful about his interactions with her, she might think that he had some sort of vendetta or something if he let himself get too excited.</p><p>With a hum of agreement to his train of thought he fixed one lone grey eye on the kunoichi in question. She was scowling slightly, an attractive flush on her cheeks that he noted was likely from embarrassment. The silver haired Jōnin stifled down an amused chuckle, settling for an uninterested look as he saw Akira turn her attention back to him.</p><p>Kakashi knew one thing for sure, and that was that he had wanted to know more about Akira Fujimori and the secrets that shadowed her. </p><p>--</p><p>Akira sighed, <em>no,</em> she was not offended by his response, <em>not at all.</em> Why would she be?</p><p>It wasn’t like they had only just met and she had perhaps wanted to see how much she could tease said ‘Copy-Ninja Kakashi’ before his brain melted. It wasn’t malicious, in fact she had been rather courteous, she could have set off her very colorful array of timed explosions<em>- non lethal of course-</em> but she had settled on improvising with her Summons. </p><p>Akira had thought about her actions briefly, wondering where she had gone wrong with her social interaction of the day-<em>err</em>-morning? What exactly had she done that had proved too much for Kakashi Hatake? She hadn’t ever really known the man on a personal level, but from what she had heard about him from Kurenai and Asuma along with some other fellow shinobi was that he was rather similar to Akira in some ways.</p><p>Socially awkward. Reclusive. Preferring training over socializing. Loyal to the village. Strong.</p><p>Well, perhaps she wasn’t nearly as gifted with jutsu and flashy quirks similar to that of his Sharingan <em><strike>that beautiful shade of red that she had loved </strike></em>but she had a knack of things of her own.</p><p>Sure, she wasn’t on par with Kakashi, likely not even close to the man’s unrivaled strength and jutsu practices, but she had a particular interest that she was sure he would take note of, fuinjutsu.</p><p>Aside from her shurikenjutsu, Akira had been striving to excel in the mastery of seals. Like the Yondaime , or from what she had heard through the grapevine, Kakashi’s Sensei. Minato Namikaze. The Fourth Hokage, a man of genius level intellect for the arts of sealing, his space-time theories and his dimension travel prompting stars from her. That man, that legend of a man, he was her ideal fuinjutsu user, a Kage that she had deeply admired of the Leaf. </p><p>Akira thought that maybe she would share that similar note of interest with Kakashi, but she wasn’t going to press or intrude further than she was allowed, she had some common sense and manners after all. Even if she had wanted to fangirl with him about the sheer levels of amazement from Konoha's Yellow Flash- not that she would say so, as seeing it was a comment that would likely incur that cold-silent wrath that had been whispered about from fellow shinobi. She knew that Kakashi Hatake was a man of action, not pretty words, or at least that was how he came across to her. <em>Maybe she should ask?</em> Akira glanced over at the Jōnin in question, immediately averting her gaze.</p><p>From the looks that she had been receiving from said silver haired Jōnin, she wasn’t quite sure she had made the best first impression. </p><p><em>Aah~ that’s right,</em> looking back on things, Akira now saw the problem. </p><p>She had been an absolute social pariah and decided that <em>yes, the best way to hold a potential friend’s</em>-or if she were lucky enough-<em>rival’s attention </em>would be cat summons, because this is the Leaf and <em>why not</em> reopen those wounds from the Uchiha slaughter and all of those wonderful <em>fuzzy</em> feelings that went along with that?<em> Oh yes Akira, very nice Akira. </em></p><p>
  <em>Sarcasm laced in witty retorts that had a means to distance yourself from your emotions? Very nice Akira. Wonderful. Absolutely lovely. Splendid job Akira. </em>
</p><p>“Shut up Akira, you thrice damn mouse. Absolute fool.” She growled lowly to herself, momentarily forgetting that she had verbalized her inner monologue once again. </p><p>
  <em>Kakashi was going to think she wasn’t mentally sound, or that she had a rather bad case of schizophrenia. Either way she looked at it, she wasn’t liking the end result. Oh Kami, she just had simply the best first impressions didn’t she?</em>
</p><p>His grey irises remind her of a kunai’s blunted metallic edges, relaxed yet cautiously aware, assessing each thing in front of him as a viable threat, the edges may be dulled down but the danger still lingers there. Clearly, he was still on edge from her surprise summoning, ready for any other surprises she would throw at him. </p><p>Poor man, he had trust issues the size of the Hokage Rock. Akira likely hadn’t added anything helpful to his rather profound trust issues with her surprise summoning and her unpredictable nature. </p><p>
  <em>Ahh- who was she kidding?</em>
</p><p>It was<em> Kakashi Hatake</em> of all people, he had no right to be a judge to her mental saneness, he was likely just as messed up if not more than she was.</p><p><em>Especially after the war, she shuddered to think about the aftermath of those dark times, bodies strewn across the land, screams filling the skies, blood staining her hands- she could never wash it off, no matter how hard she scrubbed-</em> Akira blinked, slowly, languidly.</p><p>If she didn’t stop visiting her past she wouldn’t be able to move past it, and there was no need to live in the shadows of those who had already passed on. She inhaled sharply, a craftily curved mask sliding into place to hold together all her broken pieces, her eyes narrowed to a slitted azure hue, barely visible through her wide-spread grin.</p><p>Akira clapped her hands together, the sound piercing through the heavy silence as both her companions stared at her, each with a different look in their eyes.</p><p>Yellow eyes peered at her in a genuine carefulness, searching for anything that he could help fix, that he could try to heal, anything that he could do to help. Akira graced him a toothy grin, her azure feline eyes flaring at his own, challengingly, playfully. Koja purred, content for now with the strength she was showing, even if she still smelt of sadness and regret, she was a strong kit.<em> After all, she was his Teme-Hime.</em> Koja chuckled at the less than friendly title he had assumedly come up with, pleased that his master was riled up about it. </p><p>Koja huffed bemusedly, then paused to study the shinobi male that had accompanied her. He was a bit intrigued by this unfamiliar man before him. </p><p><br/>
Intelligent yellow eyes fixated on the dog summoner <em>-albeit unknown to Akira-</em> Koja had sniffed the air suspiciously before he had snarled with distaste. </p><p><br/>
He had guessed correctly, the male standing before him that his master had been interacting with, was a dog summoner.</p><p>Koja had picked up the scent of canines, male, pine trees, and thunderstorms, not a particularly unpleasant smell, but he was a feline, and they were proud. Koja really could give a rats ass about whoever had started the clash between the two species, but he like many other felines carried their sense of duty, their pride upon heavy shoulders accompanied with smug grins. He didn’t exactly know why his kind and the others<em>- the canines-</em> would clash so often, or why they had in the first place, but they did and that was that. </p><p><br/>
Sensing a change in the air around them, Kakashi suddenly tensed, eyes darting around to see where the danger was approaching from.</p><p>“Oi, Inu-teme. You’ll have five seconds to leave before I start to take offense to this unplanned meeting.” Koja suddenly growls out, his fur fluffing about, making his stance appear aggressive.</p><p>Akira hid the chuckle at seeing her summon fluff his form to appear larger in size as his yellow pupils slitting in a feral way. The usual honey-yellow pupils were darkening into an angry shade of rusted ore.</p><p><em>Oh, Kami, did he say Inu-teme?</em> <em>Kakashi was a summoner too? Huh, imagine that.</em> Akira never knew that Kakashi Hatake was a dog summoner, but something about that made her chuckle a bit, Koja’s glare shifting from said Jōnin towards his master as she rubbed the edge of her cheek, abashedly. She had successfully fought down her earlier snicker at the fur bristling and male posturing from her summon, only to slip when she thought of canines and Kakashi in the same sentence. </p><p>
  <em>She wasn't sure what exactly it was, but the picture just seemed to fit with the awkward Jōnin being a dog summoner, so sue her. </em>
</p><p>“Teme-himeee~ You have three, since I’m being generous today, you may thank your Kami now.” The familiar timbre rumbled from the fluffed up Koja, his eyes slitted, tail bristled, webbed paws flexing with anticipation as Akira pondered on her response. <em>Should she risk it? She felt like she probably shouldn’t say what she was about to say.</em></p><p>“Aah~ Dogs don’t sound all that bad, nee Hatake-san?” She shoots a knowing look towards her summon, his fur beginning to bristle once again. </p><p>“Lovable, soft, not to mention- have you seen their cute little toe beans? So squishable. Dogs are just a nice breath of fresh air, doncha agree? Man’s best friend.” She grins, shooting a foxy smile towards the silver haired Jōnin. </p><p>She lazily stretches, creamy non-ink stained skin peeking through her mesh fishnet, a pair of keen grey eyes unknowingly following the trail with a look of mild curiosity and appreciation.</p><p>Kakashi’s one visible eye was showing a faint trace of amusement, as he mirrored the infectious grin<em>- albeit a bit smaller, but a grin all the same-</em> in return.</p><p><em> Maybe he hadn’t written her off quite yet?</em> Akira grinned at the thought, her spirits lifting a bit.</p><p>“Maa~ I would have to say that similar minds think alike then, Fujimori-kun.” His voice is lilted again, a teasing tone to it as the kunoichi grins a clever little grin at him. </p><p>Kakashi quirks a brow in surprise at the sound of a husky chuckle beside him, an odd pleasantly warm feeling coiling in his gut as he looks back to the ink-stained kunoichi, her head thrown back in laughter. The oddly colored, uneven locks framing her face in a rather attractive way, her feline eyes almost entirely closed, a sliver of an azure hue locking gazes with his own as Kakashi jolted.</p><p><em>Those were some rather troublesome thoughts, best to shove those somewhere else for now.</em> Kakashi thought as he handled the emotions that sprung forth the best way he knew how.</p><p>
  <em>Deflection and denial.</em>
</p><p>Akira was still laughing, easily avoiding the swipe of the webbed paws that were swatting out towards her as she pivoted, grabbing onto the silver haired Jōnin’s wrist as she shunshined them away, ignoring the wide-eyed look of surprise that Kakashi gave her. </p><p>Her shunshin was eerily similar to that of the Body Flicker Technique of a certain Uchiha. Akira felt her heart throb slightly at the thought, but she kept the same foxy smile on her face. She was thoroughly satisfied about the runabout with Koja, fixating on the present rather than the ghosts of her past. </p><p>Akira knew that her laughter was still echoing off the trees behind her, along with the angry rumbling of her disgruntled feline summon, feeling pleased at the karmic situation.</p><p><em>Calling her Teme-Hime, that smug little shit got what he had coming.</em> She thought amusedly, picturing the indignant brooding from Koja.</p><p>Kakashi had stumbled away from her grip as the ink-stained kunoichi threw him another grin, waving two slender fingers in front of her as a mock salute. </p><p>“It was a pleasure to meet you Hatake-san, I would apologize for any trouble that I may have put you through, but I know somewhere in that frazzled brain of yours, you somewhat enjoyed it.” She snickered at the bewildered look he gave her, as if she were talking a foreign language. </p><p>Akira beamed.</p><p>She may have found something more interesting than studying jutsu, if that was even a thing.</p><p>
  <em>Kakashi Hatake, huh?</em>
</p><p>He was definitely someone she wanted to know more about, though she wasn’t sure she would get the same sort of encouragement from said Jōnin, she figured it would be worth a shot. </p><p>What’s the worst that could happen?</p><p>“I do hope we’ll become friends one day, or maybe-” She paused dramatically, feigning a pose of thoughtful consideration, hand resting on her chin as she looked up at the sky, as if she was being communicated to by Kami. </p><p>Another moment of silence hung heavy in the air as the silver haired Jōnin tensed, awaiting the rest of her sentence. </p><p>Akira brightened as she faced him with another grin, this though was a grin more <em>teeth</em> than <em>lip</em>. </p><p>The Leaf kunoichi made a gesture with her hands, one palm flat beneath the other formed in a fist, a gesture of a sudden epiphany. </p><p>“Nee, with that grey hair of yours, you look like you need someone to keep you on your toes. Best keep up with me. Jaa nee, Inu-san.” She winked, a playful tone to her words as she disappeared from sight.</p><p>The kunoichi had left as quickly as she came, leaving even more questions unanswered to the silver haired Jōnin, staring after her with a baffled expression. If you were to look closer though, you could see the amused slanting to his eyes, the shifting, pondering stance that changed his usual lazy posture. If you looked close enough you could see the curl of his lip, the hint of a grin of someone who was pondering the answer to a very intriguing puzzle. </p><p>--</p><p>Unbeknownst to Akira, two watchful sets of eyes had been trained on the pair of shinobi as soon as they had shunshined at the edge of the village, close to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop but not quite close enough to be seen by any of the civilians.</p><p>Wine red eyes gazed unwaveringly back at chocolate brown ones, as they both nodded to each other, jaws set in determination as they began to take off after the ink-stained kunoichi.  </p><p>A certain silver haired Jōnin had just had his first mid-life crisis and he was surprisingly okay with that. <em>What the hell just happened? Why was there a kunoichi in the village that held the Uchiha Summons?</em> Kakashi stared at his wrists, the warmth from another person was so foreign to him that it felt like it was still lingering. How odd, he wasn’t sure why exactly she had shown him what she had, throwing him a rather small peak into her life, but Kakashi knew that just a peak wouldn’t be enough to satisfy his curiosity. No, now he was interested, and Kami above, if a man like him<em> -gifted genius that he was-</em> was intrigued by something, or rather, someone, then he may have shed some pity for that poor soul. </p><p>But Akira Fujimori, that eccentric, odd, clever witted kunoichi that she was, there was something off with her. There was something about her that just set his teeth in a grind, it wasn’t frustration, it was something more akin to having a particular word at the tip of his tongue, waiting for the rest of the letters to jumble out. He was waiting, silent for that painstakingly long wait, knowing that the word he had wanted to say was on the tip of his tongue, yet unable to remember what exactly it was.</p><p>Kakashi wasn’t sure what to do with this sort of feeling, as he rarely treated things like those with any care or afterthought. <em>Feelings</em>. What truly horrific words, he liked the words ‘musings’ or ‘instincts’ much better, even if they were all of a similar connotation, or wildly different- it really didn’t matter much to him on the wording, he was more at an impasse on what to do with the situation. The situation that had just unfolded itself as a neatly little wrapped present of unaccustomed human emotions and surprise visitations of his suppressive guilt complex. </p><p>
  <em>Maa- those would never get old. </em>
</p><p>Kakashi blinked, shaking away any unwanted thoughts. Right, he had something he had to do. Right now he had something on his mind that surprisingly enough wasn't memories of his past, nor the latest news for the soon to be released Icha Icha Series. All that was on Kakashi's mind currently was where he could find the nearest building that had information on Akira Fujimori.</p><p>He wanted to know who the hell that ink stained kunoichi was,<em> who she really was-</em> he had a sneaking suspicion that she held a far more complex mask than an ANBU would.</p><p>Pausing briefly, remembering her clouded blue eyes as she had slipped away for a moment in the forest. Kakashi frowned, this would be rather difficult, his heart had been quietly thumping away, beat quickening as he visualized the oddly entrancing and unique features from the irksome kunoichi. It was akin to a feeling of curiosity that had begun bubbling in his chest as he stared after the place she had just shunshined from. A warmth stained his cheeks as he shook his head, clearing away any of those uncomfortable thoughts that kept encroaching in his mind. He had a mission to complete, he couldn't be getting distracted.</p><p><br/>
An yet, there was something that had been niggling away at him. Aside from the countless other questions that had been on his mind since he had conversed with the strange kunoichi, there was a feeling that had kept creeping up on him, like he was forgetting something important. </p>
<p>
  <em>Oh. Right.<em> Kakashi sighed, staring up at the morning sky, the sun long having risen, the streets of Konoha beginning to bustle with city life.</em></em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>That was the question that had been continuously prodding away at his mind.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Why did she seem so familiar to him?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>--</p><p>
  <em>
    <em></em>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Finally was able to update again! So happy &gt;.&lt; Made this chapter a bit longer than most but hopefully y'all enjoy it!</p><p>Sorry for the late posting, but hope you all enjoy! Trying my best to keep up with each of the fics I've been writing while juggling work and apparently now some thrice damned bastard took my bank account into hold, whoever they are hope they're hecking happy T.T</p><p>Anyways, hope y'all like it, added a little more story progression and a bit more seriousness/angst in because ya can't have a Kakashi fic without some good 'ol fashion train wreck of emotions &lt;3 </p><p>Comment if y'all want anything specific added in, I'm more than happy to hear any suggestions or ideas or anything similar. Reading everyone's comments is super fun, and I'm honestly flattered that y'all take the time to read my works :)</p><p>As always, try and stay safe!<br/>-Jade</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>--</p><p> </p><p>Akira Fujimori was being pinned down by two fellow Jōnin, unsure of how she found herself in this unfortunate predicament. <em> Okay, well that was a bit of a lie, but still. </em> She really hadn’t expected to be pounced upon as soon as she had taken one step into her apartment flat, being knocked -rather roughly- to the floor and suddenly finding herself immobilized. </p><p>
  <em> Honestly, she was beginning to think that Kami had cursed her or something.</em>
</p><p>Akira hadn’t the slightest clue of why she was suddenly being held down, her limbs locked tightly by two faintly familiar chakra signatures that were pulsing so <em>dreadfully loud</em> beside her.</p><p>She hadn’t remembered pulling any sort of pranks or clever karmic justice that morning, nor the night before.</p><p>Akira struggled to remember if she had done anything troublesome, recounting her schemes she had set prior- but found nothing of the sort in her mental checklist.</p><p>Nevertheless though, she was currently being grappled and wrangled down like a wild boar on a rampage.</p><p>There was a familiar bandaged wrapped, red eyed kunoichi grappling tightly behind her, and a cigarette-loving smug looking shinobi had been awaiting her arrival, immobilizing her in front. They had pounced on her before she had any time to even react. </p><p>
  <em>Curse Kami, she had the absolute worst luck of anyone in this thrice damned village, didn’t she? Not to mention her taste in companions, honestly, what was she thinking?</em>
</p><p>Akira remembered distantly wondering what her life had become, associating with these kinds of people, dare she say- friends, comrades even- with them.</p><p>They were the same type of comrades that would eagerly pull off shenanigans like this- either with the ink-stained kunoichi or on rare occasions- against her. Akira hated the latter, being the person on the receiving end of a prank, scheme, or an ongoing joke was literally the worst. Especially if it were a plan set in motion by those two.</p><p>
  <em> Really, curse her damnable luck. </em>
</p><p>Typically these sorts of situations ended up with Akira in some sort of vice-hold, usually being pinned down by her two fellow shinobi. These types of situations would commonly result in her briefly entertaining the idea of finally cracking and buying that book that Genma <em>-one of her fellow shinobi companions-</em> would tease her with relentlessly. </p><p>The senbon-loving smug bastard that he was, had always told her that she should place a down-payment on the ridiculous book. He would smugly tell her that it would save her a lot of trouble in the future, as seeing her hand with luck.</p><p>Akira knew <em>exactly</em> which book he was teasing her with, and would always snarl a resounding "No. Goddamn. Way."  </p><p>There was a certain bright orange book in the village bookstore, placed in the window for fellow passer-byers to see. It was a fairly decently priced book, but it was also a piece of merchandise that screamed inadequacy.</p><p>Curious, right? Akira had been too, until she had gotten a closer examination.</p><p>It was titled, “The Arts of Escape.” </p><p>Now normally Akira would be all for literature titled something like that, even if it had screamed inadequacy, she would no doubt find a use for it. There was just one thing about that bright orange book that threw her off though.</p><p>There was a catch to the clever and enticing title that the kunoichi, something she had not noticed at first. </p><p>Akira had been interested in the book, so she had looked a little lower on the cover of the vibrant piece of literature, the same exact one that had been placed in the sales window, idly wondering if she had enough money on hand to purchase it since it seemed to be a good find. </p><p>That was when she had seen it. </p><p>Scrawled across the cover, in a much smaller print<em>- as if to let the reader know that they were a failure in all things-</em> in italicized black lettering, “For Idiots.” </p><p>Akira had refused to buy that damnable piece of literature, immediately pocketing her spare coins she had pulled out. She may be a lot of things, but an idiot was not one of them.</p><p>Good Kami, no.</p><p>The fuinjutsu practitioner had prided herself on her ingenious scheming<em> -err- </em> thinking. Most certainly not scheming. <em> Schemes? That was a topic, a word that she would definitely not partake in. Absolutely not.  </em></p><p>Either way, she prided herself on her genius brain, there was no way in Hell she would buy that ridiculous book...<em> although </em> ... <em> with things like this happening to her...  </em></p><p>The fuinjutsu practitioner had half a mind to go against her stubborn morals and purchase the vibrant orange book. Solely for the purpose of her survival for the future. Akira had mused on the topic, throwing it around in her mind. <em> Perhaps she would shunshin in the bookstore, maybe she would don a mask of sorts to hide her identity from prying eyes.  </em></p><p>Sarcasm aside though, Akira had still found herself being held down by her closest comrades, and she was not particularly happy with that.</p><p>The ink-stained kunoichi remembers faintly entertaining the idea of rethinking the choices she had made in her life to end up where she was today. Not that anyone needed to hear that though, Kami above, she would be absolutely mortified if she were to <em> whine </em> or something equally as horrific as that. <em>No, she would not whine pitifully, or simper about something that was unfair.</em> Akira was a proud kunoichi of the Leaf, she didn’t <em>need</em> to hold onto those petty emotions.</p><p>No, she didn't need those sorts of useless things...what she needed was a brilliant mind, and lucky for her, Akira had one.</p><p>Instead of feeling indignant or things of similar nature to those emotions, she would plot.</p><p>She was already planning out how to get her revenge, a dark grin creeping on her face as she twisted around in the abrupt shoulder-lock she was held in.</p><p><em>Of course it was in courtesy of her two closest companions, those damnable no-good shinobi that they were. </em> </p><p>Let’s rewind a tad bit- before Akira was rethinking her choice in friends and lifestyle- shall we?</p><p>--</p><p>
  <em> Two Hours Earlier  </em>
</p><p>--</p><p>Akira had just gotten done reaching out an invitation of rivalry and -<em> possible- </em>friendship to the one and only Kakashi Hatake when she had remembered something that had been niggling away in the back of her mind.</p><p> Somewhere in the maze of her mental landscape, there was a very important thought that had been shoved aside in favor of breaking the mind of a certain silver haired Jōnin.</p><p> Something was bothering Akira, she had this feeling in her gut that told her she was forgetting something vaguely important. There was a thought drifting about somewhere in her mind, something that she had completely forgotten about, much to her displeasure. </p><p>Akira hummed, tapping her chin in thoughtfulness. </p><p>
  <em> What was it that she was forgetting?  </em>
</p><p>She looked down at herself, keen azure eyes taking in everything as she performed a mental checklist. </p><p>Check one: she had all her brushes, ink and messy kit of scrolls. </p><p>Check two: she had her proper uniform on for her select Jōnin ranking. </p><p>Check three: she had her hidden blades tucked away in different crevices around her small frame, some hidden in the folds of her clothes, others hidden in more obscure places. </p><p>Check four: she didn’t see anything out of place on her person. She had double checked, making sure to pat her chest in search of the corded leather that was discreetly placed around her neck, nestled between her cleavage. </p><p>
  <em> She had everything she needed, so why did she feel as if she were missing something?  </em>
</p><p>Akira’s finger strummed a dissonant rhythm against her chin as she mused.</p><p>Suddenly she paled. </p><p>
  <em> She had forgotten about her cookies!  </em>
</p><p>Cursing her forgetful mind, the ever-ink-stained kunoichi had raced through the village, throwing her hands into a jumbled array of hurried symbols with an audible, “Shunshin no Jutsu!” </p><p>With a one-track mind, Akira had seemingly appeared from nowhere, feet balancing on the steel railing in front of her second story apartment. Her neighbors, civilian neighbors at that, likely <em>hated</em> her for things like this. </p><p>She briefly wondered if they had evicted the complex yet, likely not too keen on sharing a floor space with a shinobi. A fuinjutsu practicing shinobi at that. Bless those poor souls that lived next to her. The sheer amount of scorch marks she had stretched across the carpets floor, the loud booms at odd hours in the night, usually followed by frantic footsteps and colorfully arrayed curses. </p><p>
  <em> Haa~ she was a fantastic neighbor. Simply the best. </em>
</p><p>She smirked rather proudly at her ingeniousness before twisting her pretty features into a snarl, chastising herself for straying off course.</p><p>
  <em> Not now, dammit Akira! Now was not the time to be priding yourself on the wonderful social skills and ingenious neighborhood reputation you built up, even if they are rather lovely...no, stay on topic! Right now is the time to be worrying about your prized possessions, you absolute damned fool! </em>
</p><p>Unfortunately for her, she had not been paying her surroundings any mind, too preoccupied with the thought of her baked goods that were on the precipice of danger, of becoming inedible. </p><p>
  <em> That was her first mistake.  </em>
</p><p>All but scrambling into her apartment, Akira had failed to notice the flaring of two familiar chakra signatures inside her household, too worried about the expiration date looming ahead of her unfinished desserts.</p><p>
  <em> That was her second mistake.  </em>
</p><p>She swung open the door with the same ferocity one would when storming an enemy base<em> -albeit without the silent stealthiness-</em> but the same KI that she would use in similar situations had surged from around her. Unknowing of her surprise visitors, she had flung her KI around at the two shinobi lying in wait, causing both to immediately tense up, nerves singing in anticipation. The two Jōnin shinobi shared a knowing look from the shadows they were hidden in, two grins simultaneously being shared.</p><p>There, inside Akira’s studio apartment, unbeknownst to the clever kunoichi in question, they nodded at one another in agreement. </p><p>Akira had barely taken her first step into her humble abode, when she felt something brush against her legs, a thinly stretched wire had gleaned up at her. The Leaf kunoichi frowned, she hadn’t remembered placing that there. </p><p>She had looked down in confusion, peering closer at the trap wire tucked in the corners of her doorway, cocking her head to the side in a similar fashion a confused puppy would. Akira had known for a fact that she hadn’t reset her traps before she went out. She had been too lazy to reset her booby traps and fuinjutsu scrolls around her apartment to warn off any home invaders that could potentially visit. </p><p>Akira studied the wire once more, squinting her eyes at the trap. </p><p>Perhaps she just forgot to disarm this one? The Leaf kunoichi tossed the thought around for a bit before deciding that maybe her memory had tripped her up. She likely had forgotten to disarm this one, knowing her scatterbrained mind, she had simply thought she did but in actuality she had forgotten about it. Yeah, that made sense.</p><p> After a few more moments of staring at the wire in contemplation, Akira leant back up.</p><p>A carefree shrug on her shoulders, she stepped over the wire trap.</p><p>
  <em> That was her third and final mistake.  </em>
</p><p>--</p><p>As soon as Akira had stepped over the wire trap, her left foot coming down on the carpeted floor of her studio apartment, she felt a strange sense of dread pool into her gut.</p><p>Looking up, directly in front of her, hidden in the shadows of her living room, two pairs of eyes stared back at her. </p><p>One was a set of wine red eyes, swirling with the promises of something threatening. </p><p>The other, a warm chocolate brown, seeming to be laughing at her in a mixture of smugness and amusement. </p><p>Akira swallowed thickly. She knew those eyes, all too well. </p><p>Pivoting on her foot, the Leaf kunoichi shifted her weight backwards, frantically trying to escape from her occupied apartment, but it was too late. </p><p>Limbs ascended on her, two sets of familiar arms locking her in place, immobilizing any movement from her. </p><p>The fuinjutsu practitioner whimpered, knowing exactly whose limbs were entangled around her smaller frame. </p><p>“Welcome back, Kira-kun.” A thickly sweet, almost honey-dripping feminine voice chimed from behind her. </p><p>Akira knew though that the sickly sweet tone was the exact opposite of how the red-eyed kunoichi was feeling. Instead of honey it was poison that was dripping with dark cheerfulness from her words. At least she hadn’t stabbed her -<em> err- </em> at least she hadn’t stabbed her- <em> yet </em>.</p><p>Words were a <em>bit</em> difficult when she gazed into those wine red eyes, eyes that were coldly calculating, eyes that were easily able to pull Akira into one of her own worst nightmares as easily as it was to blink.</p><p>“So kind of you to visit, Aki-chan.” Following the sweet voice came a low masculine timbre, vibrating with poorly concealed humor.</p><p> The words that were murmured were like a cheerfully sadistic breeze, whispering amusement, mocking her. She knew for a fact that the owner of the masculine voice was likely grinning around his words, thoroughly pleased to have caught her in one of her own traps. </p><p>Akira paled, turning her face upwards, azure feline eyes going wide as she stared back at the two Jōnin shinobi that had entrapped her.</p><p><em> Well, looks like she didn’t have to worry about her baked goods </em>, she mused humorlessly. </p><p>Baked goods were most certainly one of the things that had been on her mind, but right now, they had just been shoved down the priority list.</p><p> She couldn’t be worrying about the expiration date of her cocoa rich delicious cookie dough- not right now. </p><p>Akira sighed, slumping forward defeatedly. </p><p>Cookies were the least of her concern. </p><p>She had Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yūhi grappling her in place, looking down at her with matching grins inside her apartment.</p><p>Akira shivered uncomfortably, as if something cold had just trailed up her spine.<em> Her once-thought-to-be-safe apartment. </em></p><p><em> The joys of comradery, </em> the Leaf kunoichi sullen mused. </p><p>Akira was not at all looking forward to the sudden surprise visitation from her two closest- dare she say- <em> friends </em>, knowing that their unannounced arrival likely had hinted at something troublesome.</p><p>
  <em> Kami, give me strength. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> --  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Current Time </em>
</p><p>--</p><p>“Haa~ Well, good morning to you as well.” She paused, clearing her throat as she chose her words carefully, but then thought better of it. </p><p>“Mind telling me what you’re doing here, hiding in my living room like the lurkers that you two are?” Akira replied, a tired grin on her face as she waited to be released from the vice-like grip of her two closest comrades. </p><p>Kurenai was the first to speak, easing up on her crushing grip around her shoulders. </p><p>“Kira-kun, where have you been the last twenty fours hours?” Her honeyed tone had taken a sharper edge towards the end of her sentence. </p><p>Kurenai’s voice was starting to flint, almost warningly at the kunoichi in question. Akira being the ever-witty and resourceful genius kunoichi that she was had opened her mouth to reply with a smug witty retort, but was quickly shut down.</p><p>“And don’t you dare say that you were at home, because we both know for a fact that you weren’t. You know you can’t fool someone like me, Kira-kun.” Kurenai sang sweetly, darkly cheerful. </p><p>Akira closed her mouth, the earlier white lie dissipating at her fellow shinobi’s reply, laced with minor KI. </p><p>
  <em> Haa- Kurenai was a downright horror when she got like this, honestly. Kunoichi were scary. </em>
</p><p>Akira barely suppressed the shiver she felt at the sadistic personality that the wine eyed beauty held. </p><p>
  <em> Downright diabolic. No wonder people tend to avoid the female species when they get that look...scary. Seriously scary. </em>
</p><p>The feline azure eyed kunoichi hesitated for a moment before opening her lips once more, to reply to the infamous Genjutsu Mistress.</p><p>There was a thin veil of sweat sheening from her neck as she collected her nerves, thoroughly spooked from her comrade’s dark yet cheerful attitude. </p><p>Akira carefully evaluated the wording in her response, trying to filter out the words she knew that would land her in more trouble. </p><p>Unfortunately, she was interrupted from her internal panic as she felt a whispering breeze glide across her neck. </p><p>“Haha, you never change, do you Aki-chan?” Asuma chortled from her right side, no longer holding Akira in a vice-grip. Instead he had taken to leaning his own weight against her, propped up against her smaller frame as she had leaned against her doorway.</p><p>Personal space simply ceased to exist when these two Jōnin were with her. </p><p>The cigarette loving Jōnin had known that Akira was ticklish -outlandishly so- and would use that known weakness against her more often than not, damnable shinobi. </p><p>She briefly wondered if he had made a game of sorts on how many times he could successfully get away with that particular brand of torture against her. <em>Hopefully he hadn’t, that would be humiliating. Kami above if anyone aside from these two found out about that particular weakness she held. </em></p><p>Akira glanced over to her other close comrade, his warm chocolate brown eyes holding a knowing look to them. </p><p>“Speaking of things that never change, want to tell us why you were out all night, only arriving at the break of dawn in the village?” He continued, his warm eyes slowly losing their mirth. </p><p>Akira opened her mouth once more to reply, a volley of verbal quips on the tip of her tongue. Before she could let them fall though, the cigarette loving shinobi had leaned further into her, his shoulders nudging almost playfully against her own, momentarily distracting her from responding. </p><p>As Asuma continued to speak, his amusement had slowly bled out of his voice, instead being replaced with a less lighthearted tone, a tone she was all too familiar with. </p><p><em> It was as if there were a sort of warning in his voice. Haa~ too bad she had already blown well past a warning, huh? </em> Akira had mused glumly.  </p><p>“Ah, you see this would be something I would say that would never change. But it did, didn’t it Aki-chan?” A pause, the shoulder that he had been playfully nudging against her had halted. Akira swallowed once more, the same feeling she had gotten from Kurenai had begun to spread through her at Asuma’s words. </p><p>The Jōnin continued, his voice dipping lower with each word that he spoke. </p><p>“That really bothers me, ya know? I'm hurt. Truly wounded Aki-chan. Who would’ve thought that of all the people you would spend odd hours of the night with, it would be <em>Kakashi Hatake</em>?” </p><p>Asuma slid his keen hazel eyes towards a pair of wild azure ones.</p><p>Akira swallowed thickly.</p><p>The fuinjutsu practitioner already knew the type of look that was on her comrade's face. A look she was way too familiar with. Her guilty gaze rose towards her comrades own, already foreseeing the expression on his face.</p><p>Asuma held a look of worry, confusion, amusement, and protectiveness all wrapped in one.</p><p>The once relaxed posture the cigarette loving shinobi had once held before had all but melted away. Now he was leaning his weight against the fuinjutsu practitioner with a faint warning behind his actions. Smooth muscles easily able to overpower her own lithe ones were taunt with restraint, a once inviting hazel gaze had now fixed upon her with a watchful, tense sense of observance. It was almost as if he knew that the kunoichi was seconds away from trying to escape again.</p><p>Kurenai's singsong voice had cut in as she dipped a slender bandaged hand underneath Akira’s chin, tilting her head up ever-so gently. </p><p>“Ah, that is a rather interesting question isn’t it Kira-kun? You wouldn’t dare lie, after all, I know exactly where your prized possessions are hidden, and would you look at that? There’s still two days before the expiration date hits. It would be such a <em>shame</em> if they were to be eaten, <em>nee- don’t you think Kira-kun?</em>”  </p><p>
  <em> Kami above, what the hell had you gotten yourself into Akira? </em>
</p><p>The ever-ink-stained kunoichi stared back at the two Jōnin that had all but replaced their usual warm natured selves with two menacing beasts, KI reflecting off of them in a halo of overprotectiveness and worry for their close friend. </p><p>Akira sighed, visibly defeated. </p><p>“Alright, fine. <em>Fine</em>. I give.” She sighed once more, louder this time as she shot the two shinobi a dirty look.</p><p>“White flag Breezy-kun, Dreamy-chan. I, Akira Fujimori, ask for solace, and will speak nothing but the truth. Solemnly swear.” Akira recited her oath, holding up three fingers in a salute. </p><p>This was one gesture and sentence that she had reserved for when she had gotten in over her head. It was a shame that it even had to be created in the first place. </p><p><em> Damn you two troublesome Jōnin, </em>she cursed internally. </p><p>The two Jōnin in question both shared a knowing look before they nodded to each other, stepping away from the trouble-abiding kunoichi, giving her room to breathe. </p><p>They kept a few paces away, standing a bit awkwardly in the living room that felt a tad too crowded for the trio of Jōnin. Asuma and Kurenai were being polite, allowing Akira some space to gather her bearings as they awaited her response. </p><p>Akira shook herself, flicking imaginary lint off her person as she sighed again -the third time she had done so- before she gestured for her comrades to approach. </p><p>They both grinned<em> like the smug bastards they were</em>, before they lazily sprawled next to her.</p><p> The now trio were sitting on the carpeted floor of her apartment, all tenseness melting aside now that the kunoichi was willing to be honest.</p><p>Akira leaning against her doorway, Asuma on her right side and Kurenai on her left, both leaning into her smaller frame for either support or warmth.<em> Akira bet it was warmth, those cold-hearted Jōnin were most definitely using her as a mobile space heater, she could bet her A-Rank paycheck on it. </em></p><p>The fuinjutsu practitioner took a deep breath before she began, a small smirk on her face as she spun the tales of her interactions with the Copy-Nin of Konoha. </p><p>“Let’s see…” She paused for a dramatic effect before she gave the two Jōnin on either side of her a trademark-Akira-like grin. </p><p>“...It all started with a scroll…” </p><p>--</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Haa~ Breezy-kun and Dreamy-chan, huh? Wonder if Asuma and Kurenai will be important to the story plot, ehh? </p><p>Also, y'all can fight me on this- but Akira is a glutton for baked goods y'all. I mean, have you ever had Panera's chocolate chip cookies? If there is a god out there, I know exactly where they reside.</p><p>Joking and foreshadowing aside, next chapter- hope y'all like it! </p><p>As always, stay safe!<br/>-Jade &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Notice!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hey everyone! So sorry that this is not an actual chapter update...I've been under a tad bit of stress lately. I'm super sorry for anyone that's been following up and reading any of my works, I did promise to update again soon but it looks like something happened, had an unexpected death in the family so...may be a short bit of time to update again. I do promise I will try and post some more after everything settles down, but for now just wanted to let all my readers know that nothing will be discontinued as of now... it just might take a bit of time before I can upload again. Sadly, I'm one of those kinda of people that just can't publish something (whether it's fact or fiction) while knowing that I can do better. So, I won't be publishing anything that I know won't be one hundred percent of my best...not meant in an egotistical way or anything...(If it sounded like that I apologize)...just one of the few little personality traits that a lot of artists tend to have been cursed/blessed with. <br/>Anyways, thank you again to everyone that has been following up on my works and leaving comments and kudos below... it's always one of my favourite things to see when I log on after work. <br/>I really appreciate everything you guys leave for me, and hope that y'all continue to do so!<br/>I'll try to continue to write and work out a less confusing schedule for publishing, so for now...please bear with me! <br/>Thank you all again so so much! <br/>Please stay safe and hydrated for everyone out there as always!<br/>-Jade &lt;3</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Inspired by Tsundoku by ChesFleur </p><p>Quick note: Will be updating in the same cycle for the other works in progress since I'm currently working on five different stories at once, so please bear with me and let me know if anything catches your eye when reading 'em :)</p><p>-Jade &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>